the actress

three; in which food is eaten

STEFAN
Mother and Father seem rather infatuated with my new sister. I'll admit, I'm rather intrigued by her myself. Delaney doesn't seem too keen, although her script would say otherwise. My sister is somewhat judgemental of new people. And Lei, she's as new as things get. In the fifteen years that Delaney has walked this earth, I have been burdened with the duty of knowing her best of all beings, and this comes with the price of knowing when she's disapproving of a person. Which she is. Very.

DELANEY
I haven't been this disappointed in the scripts since I was twelve. It was Christmas, and I was desperate for the new Walled Envy album. I'd been listening to it at night religiously on my phone, hoping mum and dad would get the goddamn hint and buy me the album. They got me a doll. I was not happy. But obviously my script happened to be thrilled with little Petunia. I was furious.
But not as furious as I am now.
Mum and dad ought to have denied Lei. She isn't even their daughter. Yes, perhaps by birth, but they didn't raise her. They raised us. Stefan and I.

ALLANOR
Despite the guilt resting in my stomach, love and relief keep me in their hold when I see my family, my whole family, together. It's strange, in a way: to see Lei sitting with Stefan and Delaney; it's quite a sight to behold- with their vibrant red hair the three of them could be a circus act.
I remember that day Lei was born, my first child. I'd just turned sixteen and despite my mother's doubts, the Directors decided that my pregnancy would be an excellent plot device. And so it was written in that my assigned boyfriend, Kendrick, had 'knocked me up' as they so delicately put it. I didn't want to marry him, I didn't love him- my heart belonged to someone else. The script, however, cannot be disobeyed. I was four months pregnant when I became Mrs. Cooper and waved goodbye to my maiden name.
And my family.

KENDRICK
Lei is my daughter as much as Stefan and Delaney, although part of me is hesitant to take her in, given where she's come from. She seems a little odd, really, but writers always are particularly quirky. Often mad, I've found. Not that it's my place to say. I watch her pick delicately at Allanor's homemade lasagna.
"Do you not like it?" She asks, the creases of her face forming a portrait of concern.
"Oh! God, yes. It's lovely. Mum, it's lovely. But...it's..." we all pause to watch her find the word. "...heated."
Nowhere in Delaney's does it signal for her to snort with laughter, but she does, before looking at me with wide, startled eyes. We know what this will mean for her.
"Del..." Stefan places his hand over hers, and squeezes it gently "when will you ever learn to keep your mouth shut?"
For a moment I'm afraid that my son is also deliberately breaking the rules, before I see an extra stage direction has been added.
A

nd that's when hell breaks lose.

DELANEY
That's it. I'm sick of this constant captivity. This-this, this voice in my head telling me how to live my life. I want out. I keep telling my self that three years really isn't that long, but it is. I don't care, anymore, if I become an extra. Because I'll be free. I'll grow old with someone that I'll actually love and just about survive with them, everyday just existing. Yes, I will die at forty. But I will have lived. And that means more to me.
I slam my hand down on the table and stand up. "No." My voice doesn't waver as I stare defiantly into the camera in the corner. "I sick of this. Write me out. I don't care."
Stefan looks up at me, and tries to tug me down.
"Sit down, Del, before you regret it"
It's his voice, but I know that it's a threat from the writers, perhaps even the directors.
Casting a look around the room, my family's expressions vary.
Mum- head down, left hand gripping her fork. My father sits at the other end of the table, pretending to continue to eat. Stefan is wide-eyed and biting his lip. And Lei, she's got a uncertain look of confusion about her.

LEI
What the fuck.

DELANEY
Of course, she doesn't have a script chip yet. She wouldn't know what was coming next. The others barely know, their scripts rely on my next move. Our family's writers must be on the edge of their seats. All of a sudden I have the urge to sit down and apologise, but recognise that this is the calming serum they send your head if you kick up a fuss. I fight it, having practised alone in my room, at nighttime when I'd not been able to sleep. And then my hands are clutching my plate, still half piled up with lasagna, before it is hurled at the camera.
"Fuck you"
I stride out of the door, slamming it behind me.

STEFAN
We all sit in silence for a moment after Delaney exits. My eyes dart to the clock, and my parents eyes follow them. It's one minute off six thirty, so we join hands- Lei, too, after Mother and Father gesture to her-  and close our eyes.
As the countdown begins, I breathe in time with the ticking.
Ten.
My mother runs her finger over my hand.
Nine.
I hear Lei give a little sneeze.
Eight.
My father touches my foot with his underneath the table.
Seven.
My stomach turns, desperate for this to end
Six.
Ten seconds has never lasted so long.
Five.
Four.
Three.
A line takes over my mouth as I grimace.
Two.
Almost time.
One.
I let out my last breath and relax.
"And cut. That's it for today folks."

LEI
That's Roald's voice.

STEFAN
Today's director is different. Which means that Ed's been fired. He's an extra now. The new voice is smooth, quite similar to mine. It's kind of like dark chocolate, if you get what I mean. Rich, but with a little something different. I can't quite explain it, and although I'm sad for Ed and his six children, I'm interested to see more of this new director.
"Oh and...yeah, sorry, my name's Roald, I'm new. Which you probably know. Anyway. Well, um." He pauses for a second, and his question appears to be directed away from us, perhaps at another director. "Is this the Cooper family?"
I glance over at Lei, who's sat still, shock plastered over her face.
"That's my friend." She smiles a little "he made it"

a/n-
i haven't proofread this, im so sorry. however, i think it's alright? if you could comment your thoughts that would be great! over and out for now. love, erin.